Today is Julia Child’s birthday! Let’s celebrate by eating more butter! I got to see her kitchen four years ago, as it is entombed in plexiglass at the Smithsonian museum of American history in Washington D.C.

She has definitely inspired me to enjoy life by enjoying great food (including fat, meat, and butter!) and sharing it with others. I also love that she was so OK with who she was and her passion for food. She didn’t fit the mold of a typical TV star, as she was tall, ungainly, and not a great beauty. Yet she had her own TV show, a huge following, and is probably more popular than ever, after her death. We can learn a lot from her.

This picture book shown below is loosely based on Julia. I look at it as the author’s imaginary view of what Julia would have been like as 10 year old girl playing in the kitchen with a best friend.

It’s fun, clever, and the illustrations are so whimsical. Just know it’s not from Julia’s history.

If you really want to know about her life, I highly recommend the book below. The author intersperses so many comments on how Julia’s life affected her own life. It’s such a delightful read!